LETTER: Move slowly this time

Saturday

Sep 27, 2008 at 10:35 PM

Move slowly this time

Move slowly this time

The Bush Doctrine has now been fully revealed. Until now, experts and laypersons alike used this phrase to describe but a pillar of the Bush foreign policy doctrine. However, recent events have proven that the Bush Doctrine has a much broader application.

The response of the administration to current economic crisis has provided a more complete perspective of which to view the application of the Bush Doctrine. It is not merely a proactive foreign policy posture. Rather, the Bush Doctrine is this president's inclination to use fear in the face of uncertainty to secure unrestrained power and enormous financial means, which it can bequeath without oversight.

Example one: the invasion of Iraq. The president used the nation's fear of attack and the illusion of WMD to secure an unchecked authorization to invade Iraq and flow billions of dollars to corporations via no bid contracts. Anyone asking questions or seeking even a minimal debate on the issue is swept aside. There is no time for debate. We must rather trust the president and grant this heretofore unprecedented power and funding.

Example two: The president uses the nation's fear of a developing financial crisis that many feel but few understand to secure unchecked authorization to control the actions of a runaway government to interfere with the free market and to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in any way he sees fit.

Taken together, these two examples of the Bush Doctrine in action show the full range of this administration's willingness to use fear as a tool for political gain, and to usurp the constitutional process to expand their power.

My recommendation: move slowly this time. Ask questions, demand a complete discussion of the goals, the objectives, the review process, the oversight, the restraints, the alternatives ... and make sure someone sane can pull the plug before it's too late.